Tostones with Garlic Dip

When I went to Puerto Rico back in 2001 for the first time by visiting the family and explore around too.

I fell in love with Puerto Rican foods especially with tostones and sweet soft plantain (forgot what it was called). I alway wanted to learn how to make this but never had the chance to do it. Later, I moved to Virginia Beach from Colorado and it has a couple of Puerto Rico restaurants especially one place that happens to be in the "bad" area neighborhood but those puerto rican foods was so DELISH. They did served those tostones with garlic dip. It was so heaven for me!

Finally, I had learned how to make those tostones by frying those plantains and smashed it by using the bottom of the plastic or glass cup. Later my best friend bought me a wooden tostonera that she found it while she was in Puerto Rico visiting her family over there.

I discovered by experiment myself with the garlic by using minced garlic mixed up with olive oil and little bit of salt just exactly the restaurant back in Virginia Beach that I usually go there.

You may find the plantains nearby the banana area or at the international food market. You may want to find plantains that are a little bit firm to use. If it's being ripe already, it would be great for sweet plantains. You don't want to use if it's green because it's not ready yet. Yellow with little bit of black would be great for tostones while completely dark like brown and some blackish that would be very ripe since it's a starchy which it considers as a vegetable that produces some "sugary" that would be good for dessert like sweet ones.

To peel the plantains by cut each ends and make a slit down which it would make the peeling more easier.

You want to cut into about 1-2 inch (es) diagonally of each plantain. Heat the pan with some of vegetable or canola oil. You can use a wooden cooking tool to "test" if the oil is ready or not by insert the end of the wooden cooking tool into the oil. You will know when it's ready by seeing it bubbly or sizzling.

Put those sliced plantains and cook on each sides until you see a little bit of golden then flip it over. Put those it on the paper towel plate to dry it up then smash it with tostonera or bottom of plastic or glass cup. You can sprinkle a little bit of salt if you like to.

Garlic dip:

Some of olive oil

4 to 6 minced fresh garlic

A little bit of Salt

Mix it it up into a serving bowl along with those tostones.

Enjoy it!